Marriage Equality: January 2008

You all may already know how I feel about candidate endorsements, especially those from media outlets, especially those from community media outlets: we need them about as much as a slug needs a pretzel. Stop telling us how to vote...Read More

Enough about George Bush. I'm going to look forward, not back. I know I've mentioned before how much I love to cook. I love food, textures, tastes, working with them, tasting something and thinking about all the different ingredients. Last...Read More

Through an unlikely chain of blog posts, Waymon's entry about a gender identity inclusive anti-discrimination ordinance in Montgomery County, Maryland, started a discussion that made it halfway across the blogosphere to one of the more popular radical feminist blogs out...Read More

On this cool January morning, a Clearwater grandmother is talking to a conservative Christian health care worker who says she will vote NO in November on the so-called "marriage amendment" because she has witnessed first-hand the cruel impact of refusing...Read More

[Jan 29 - 5:18pm - Updated at the end] [Jan 30 - 11:00am - Updated again to reflect new information] I've taken some flack on various Indiana mailing lists and blogs for saying that Indiana's constitutional amendment to ban same-sex...Read More

While I was standing in line at the grocery store, I was looking over all the magazines. What engages people today- I mean, do we really care how Larry King is trying to combat heart disease? I saw one headline...Read More

On this cool January morning, a Clearwater grandmother is talking to a conservative Christian health care worker who says she will vote NO in November on the so-called "marriage amendment" because she has witnessed first-hand the cruel impact of refusing...Read More

Today Representative Eric Turner, ranking Republican on the Indiana House Rules and Legislative Policy Committee, filed a amendment to House Joint Resolution No. 1 (HJR1) a proposed constitutional amendment concerning property taxes. While I have not examined every detail, it...Read More

Late last week, former Vice President and Nobel Laureate Al Gore posted a video on Current TV, where he very matter-of-factly said, “The loyalty and love that two people feel for one another when they fall in love ought to...Read More

Whether or not I testified at a non-event last Thursday morning before the Indiana Senate Judiciary Committee against SJR-7 (the so-called "Indiana Marriage Protection Amendment") may be a valid point of debate, I guess. Gary Welsh of Advance Indiana would...Read More

So, Barack Obama has scored an incredible victory in South Carolina, receiving 55 percent of Democratic votes, to Clinton's 27 percent and Edwards's 18. According to exit polls, his margin of support was more than 4-to-1 among African American voters!...Read More

Among the themes here at Bilerico, I notice that posts about the economic crisis get the least attention. In our media, most of us LGBT folk love to argue fiercely about our in-house political issues, and of course we pay...Read More

If you had a busy week like I did, you might have missed some of the best posts from last week. So here's your friendly weekly round up. Yippee ka yay! Monday Is There Nothing the HRC Won't Exploit? -...Read More

We’re killing ourselves. The LGBT leadership in this country is being thrown to the wolves, throwing each other to the wolves… And then complain to the national media that we are not getting enough recognition of our issues in the...Read More

Since turning 18, I have never not voted. In every election in which I've been eligible—local, state, and national—I have cast a ballot. Maybe it's because I had parents who lived during the civil rights era. They made sure I...Read More

After a brief hiatus, I'm back with a vengeance! I'm sick of all this primary stuff! Boo to the primaries! We need a reality check. The Democratic contenders are all "on our side," more so than any other viable candidates...Read More

Based on what I've been reading as the primaries lay out, there's a struggle going on in the Democratic party. Actually, more than one. At least two. One is obvious to be discussed in the media; the candidates' battle to...Read More

Recently, I commented on a post at Bilerico: You want to get technical Sue? In the strictest definition, you're not female. The distinction between the "sexes" is that a female has the ability to produce ova, and the male has...Read More

Just in... Bilerico Project contributor and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force executive director, Matt Foreman, will step down in April to lead the Gay & Lesbian Program at the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. Foreman has led the...Read More

Log Cabin Republicans. It’s a segment of our community that I just don’t understand. They seem to be crawling back out of their hiding spots now that Bush is leaving office. But should they? I have seen many “I heart...Read More

Don't Ask, Don't Tell was used to hurt gays and lesbians in uniform, and the president who signed on to it is now laying the blame for the toll it has taken on the careers of well-trained, loyal members of...Read More

[EDITOR'S NOTE:] The following guest post comes to us from Thomas Heald. When not slaving away for "The Man," he has researched and written for Ogilvy Public Relations, David Letterman’s World Wide Pants Inc., RawStoryQ/PageOneQ.com, a long running "mutated TV...Read More

Are you the kind of person who falls asleep as soon as someone starts talking about history? If this describes you, perhaps you haven't discovered historical novelist Philippa Gregory. I found her books in an airport bookstore. But my interest...Read More

While several folks have asked why I haven't been banging the amendment drum as loudly this legislative session, I'm happy to report some good news by way of explanation. I didn't have to. Our grassroots effort from last year really...Read More

Ten years ago, I published a long essay about how marriage can equal perks. With the discussion raging on, the issues haven't really changed. I'd like to make some of these points again: When the American Revolution separated church and...Read More

At the Nevada debate this past Tuesday, all three top Democrats expressed support for extending the Solomon Amendment, a law created and expanded to keep recruiters on campuses that have sexual orientation inclusive anti-discrimination policies. Not that it's all that...Read More

I think its important to set you misguided homosexuals straight, so to speak, on the issue of marriage. As pointed out by Mike Huckabee, your homosexual attempts to undermine traditional marriage and destroy civilization cannot be allowed to go unchallenged....Read More

Being a gay divorcee is not much fun. Nothing like what you see in the movies. The reality is it’s hard on you; it’s hard on everyone around you. If you’ve had the fortune of being married a long...Read More

[Ed. note: This guest post comes to us from Clarence Patton, Acting Executive Director of the New York City Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project.] Back in the late 80’s and early 90’s when I was just a baby activist in...Read More

I'm a fag hag. Always have been, always will be. I love me some gay men! Seriously. I don't think you'll find a bigger or better hag than me. Which is why I thought I would post my tips for...Read More

[UPDATED AT THE END] But it’s a good one this time. The Florida Secretary of State announced Monday that Florida4Marriage, the ridiculously named, Republican-money backed group behind the so-called “marriage protection” amendment, has fallen over 20,000 signatures short of the...Read More

That is a question that has to be asked as the controversy continues over Howard Dean's interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network for The 700 Club in 2006 in which he says that Democrats have much in common with evangelicals...Read More

In many ways, when it comes to the presidential primaries, I feel like I "don't have a dog in this fight." But it's interesting to me that some people are already declaring the Democratic primaries a two person race. And,...Read More

In the 2004 election cycle, the LGBT community learned some very hard lessons. Lessons about loyalty and the lack thereof – can you hear me John Kerry? Lessons about blame and scapegoating – scores of anti-gay initiatives that focused on...Read More

The Democrats are meeting today to pick our choice to run in the special election to replace recently passed Congresswoman Julia Carson (IN-7). The Republicans will be meeting tomorrow. Ellen Andersen, Jerame Davis and I will all be attending and...Read More

Updated at the bottom of the post. Change? Bah, humbug. When I watched John Kerry endorse Barack Obama, I couldn’t help but think: “Here we go, again.” Kerry, in case you forgot, was the Vietnam war hero turned anti-war hero...Read More

On January 8, The Washington Times reported that Mike Huckabee supported amending the constitution so that children born in the US to “illegal aliens” could not automatically become American citizens. On January 9, the same paper reported Huckabee’s denial that...Read More

[EDITOR'S NOTE:] This guest post is from friend of the blog, Dana Rudolph. Dana is the founder and publisher of Mombian, a blog and resource directory for LGBT parents. This post is also being published today in Bay Windows, New...Read More

It seems the current buzz word in politics this election cycle is change. Presidential candidates from both parties are rolling out the message of change and hope, energizing the electorate. The voter turnouts and new registrations across the country are...Read More

Hillary Clinton won the New Hampshire primary last night. Here's Chris Matthews this morning: She was falling behind in the polls that were released in the days leading up to the election by double digits, so this win has been...Read More

"Actor" Stephen Baldwin swings far right now that he's converted to evangelical Christianity. In fact, he's about as far right wing as brother Alec is liberal. When I hear about his latest fundie screed, I can't help but remember how...Read More

"Based on national media reports, controversial stances such as those indicated in your application responses have resulted in property damage and the potential for increased litigation among churches that have chosen to publicly endorse these positions." -- Brotherhood Mutual Insurance...Read More

That's what I thought when I read about John and Cynthia Burke, after someone linked to the article in a comment on my post at Pam's. After six years of childless marriage, John and Cynthia Burke of Newark decided to...Read More

One of the striking images of Costa Rica was the poverty. And Costa Rica is wealthy by many standards, although they suffer a high inflation rate, and have had a struggling economy until recently. But they have a 96% literacy...Read More

Dear Indiana General Assembly Member: I know you’re plenty busy with the property tax mess this short session, but I just got my State Income Tax booklet and am very confused. I hope you can help me. The tax instructions...Read More

After reading Bil's 2007 wrap up featuring the best posts from friends of Bilerico, I thought why not do the same for Bilerico contributors. We have a great group of writers with lots of things to say. Sometimes they say...Read More

"Unless Moses comes down with two stone tablets from Brokeback Mountain to tell us something different, we need to keep that understanding of marriage.” -- Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee speaking to a group of Christian conservatives...Read More

Now that the Iowa caucuses are over, I've noticed posts on several of the blogs on my regular reading list with titles blaring "So-and-So for President" or "Why I'm Supporting Such-and-Such," followed by reasons why candidate This-and-That deserves even more...Read More

With Mike Huckabee’s ascension to GOP front runner, the role of so-called “values voters” are once again at the forefront of media coverage. My disgust with this block of voters was challenged by one of these conservative evangelicals in a...Read More

I just got off the phone with Indianapolis City-County Council minority leader Joanne Sanders. She confirmed to me that she is running for the open Congress seat caused by the passing of Congresswoman Julia Carson. She joins Andre Carson (Julia's...Read More

While everyone does their "Best of 2007" posts this time of year, friend of the blog Jon Swift gave me one heckuva idea... Instead of just tooting our own horn, I invited all of the bloggers on our "Project Friends"...Read More

A person with a wealth of experience as a Democratic insider recently told me that the political sophistication of black Americans underpinned the civil rights movement’s sensible decision to “ride the Democratic Donkey” toward securing freedoms for African Americans. I’ve...Read More

[EDITOR'S NOTE:] This guest post is by Brent Childers. Brent serves as executive director of Faith In America, a North Carolina-based organization that works to educate Americans about the harm caused by religion-based bigotry. GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee in...Read More

Ah, that darn Pope! He's such an over-achiever! Not content to simply call us an abomination and knock off early for a bottle of baby seal blood, Pope Benedict the Fearsome always has to take things one step too far....Read More